Page 31 of Lord of Ruin
The fucking Brotherhood, an alliance of the most notorious criminals in the world. My brother had never wanted to be a member of any sanctimonious fraternity or clique in college, so when he’d let the cat out of the bag, he’d joined the group of illustrious billionaires, I’d been the first one to laugh.
“So what? They only drink thousand-dollar bottles of liquor?”
“Well, maybe five-hundred-dollar bottles.” Phoenix snorted. “You have all the money in the world, yet you drink two buck chuck’s liquor.”
“Very funny. Make your own damn drink. And no, I don’t have a bottle of your favorite booze.”
“I believe I will and I’ll fix that. I’ll bring you a case of Kentucky’s finest. After all, it’s not every day your brother brings home a girl to play with and keep as a little doll.” His grin was wider than mine.
“You are hilarious. I’ll have you know she fixed me up, removing a bullet after I nearly got her killed not once but twice. What else was I supposed to do? Leave her to die?”
“Ouch. What the hell happened? Why allude to the Death Squad?”
“A storm. That’s what happened. A goddamn storm.” If only I would have needed to chase Viktor’s cowardly soldier from a subway car to a street in Brooklyn, then everything would have worked according to the plans I’d laid out. “Call it a gut feeling paired with the fact the asshole who tried to capture or kill Jenna at her clinic had a brand on his neck.”
“A brand.” Phoenix looked away. “Interesting.”
“Exactly. Plus, Viktor is little more than a thug but his business dealing with weapons has increased over the last few months.”
“Which would lead you believe he’s behind the attacks.”
“Unless somebody else wants his guns, ours as well.”
Phoenix’s eyes opened wide. “An interesting theory but I still don’t want us to jump to conclusions.”
I couldn’t stand when my plans went askew or when my instinct was working overtime. “Unfortunately, Jenna fell into the middle of the brutal storm.”
“All I’m going to say is you don’t need unwanted baggage.”
“Maybe not. However, she was almost killed twice because of me. The fucker was going to rape her first. I’m a bad dude, but no man touches a woman like that and should expect to live.”
“Shit. Only in New York. Well, think of it this way. You might have opened up a can of worms but at least you put Viktor on notice that this family won’t take his crap.”
“As if he gives a shit.”
“Oh, I assure you he will if he tries any additional shit. I’ve placed everyone on notice to keep an eye on our businesses. Whatever is going on, Viktor was stupid to try and come into our territory. Let’s hope he learned he can’t take what doesn’t belong to him.”
He held up his glass, as if making a silent toast before tossing back the single shot.
“If he does, I will be there personally slicing and dicing him like a slab of meat.” I growled after making the comment.
“Interesting hearing you talk like that. It must be because of your special guest. Now, what are you going to do with the woman? Is she important to Viktor to any degree?”
As usual, my brother knew when I’d taken a liking to any thing or person.
“No, she’s not one of Viktor’s whores if that’s what you’re getting at. She’s an innocent girl named Jenna Kilborne, a veterinarian in the wrong place at the wrong time. She walked into the arms of Viktor’s soldier and the bastard tried to use her as a shield. Nothing more.” I could tell he was mulling it over.
“You’re sure of that?”
“Yeah, I checked her out myself. Don’t go down that road. I’m not thinking with my dick. And she has nothing to do with the bitch from years ago.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a man did. I assume she’s beautiful.”
Now he had me smiling. “Insanely gorgeous.”
“Just remember that looks can be deceiving. I know you don’t want to hear that, bro, but it needs to be said. Amara wasn’t the only woman in the world to be used to take down a powerful man.”
“I told you a long time ago never to mention her name again.” Shit. My entire body was shaking. I loathed that moment in my past, the ridiculous event something I’d worked hard to get past.